Course Description

Offered
Spring 2015. This course includes a travel component to Bolivia in
August, 2015.

There
will be five classes, meeting once a week over the last five weeks of
the spring semester, before students travel to Bolivia. Students will
travel to Bolivia for 11 days from August 4st
to August 15th.
The class will also meet four times, 2 hours/class, in Bolivia, in
addition to other activities.

The
course will begin with a general discussion of sexual violence as a
social occurrence, with readings on the dynamics, magnitude, and
consequences of sexual violence. From here, students will move to the
intersection of sexual violence and international law, giving
particular attention to women’s ability to access justice in
Bolivia and other developing countries. Students will also generally
discuss the intersection of sexual violence and domestic law,
focusing on the management of sex crimes in PA, NJ, and Bolivia. In
this regard, students will look at the big picture of the criminal
process and compare U.S. systems with that of Bolivia. Finally,
students will discuss the role of the attorney in sexual violence
cases, and how that role is influenced by cultural understandings of
sexual violence. Students will also travel to Bolivia, where they
will explore the interplay between the law and grassroots social
movements. While in Bolivia, students will visit local courts, engage
in discussions with expert attorneys from Bolivia’s only
specialized center for child victims of sexual violence, engage in
discussions with human rights advocates who have changed Bolivia’s
constitution and legal structure, and help organize and participate
in the August 9th
National March Against Sexual Violence. Students will travel to
Bolivia for 11 days from August 4st
to August 15th
(dates may vary slightly depending on flight availability).